Trolley



H. J. SPODEN AND J. B. WELSH.

TROLLEY.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1919.

Patented June 15, 1920.

u::' mun UNITED STATES P TE T-O ICE.

HENRY a". sronnn AND James B. wnnsn. on ST. snoop, 'ivrinnnsorn.

TROLLEY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY J. SroDnN and JAMES B. WnLsH, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Cloud, in the county of Stearns and State of Minnesota, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is a trolley, or more particularly a trolley head adapted to be mounted on the usual spring-raised pole and to carry the usual wheel.

The primary object of the invention isto' provide means for urglng the wheel upward along a vertical line or path by means within orupon the head, in addition to the upward tendency in an oblique direction which is imparted by the usual spring at the base of the pole itself. By the provision of what might be called an impulse in two directions at angles to each other we find that the wheel is kept in more reliable contact with the wire, evenat curves, switches and crossings and in cold weather when the wire may carry a number of icicles.

Provision is also made for maintaining the axis of the wheel ever at right angles to a plane through the pole so that the wheel will trail properly under all conditions, and provision is also made for protecting the spring of this structure from becoming entangled by guy wires, while yet leaving the structure open to as great an extent as possible to avoid the accumulation. of snow or dirt.

Details of the preferred manner of carrying out the invention are set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of this head complete.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical section through the same.

The head 1 is by preference made in a single casting and comprises a vertical barrel 2, a horizontal plate 3 around the upper end of the barrel and having a peripheral upstanding flange 4L and a hole 5 through the plate at its forward side, and a tubular socket 6 into which the upper end of a pole 7 is passed and wherein it may be held by a pin 8 as seen in Fig. 1, or by threads 9 as seen in Fig. 2, or in any suitable way.

Slidably mounted in and extending entirely through the barrel is a plunger 12 which is preferably square so as to lit the Specification of LettersPatent. PatentQdJufie 15-, 1920.

"Application filed. .i u ne so, 1919. Serial N 307,502.

bore of the barrel non-rotatably, and the upper end of this plunger is fast in a boss 11 depending from a top plate 13 having a surrounding depending flange lhThe plate carries a pair-of spaced ears 15 between which extends a shaft 16 whereon is mounted the trolley wheel 17 by any preferred form of hearing which is not shown herein as it constitutes no part of thepresent invention.

An expansive spring 20 is coiled around the plunger with its ends in contact with the contiguous faces of the plates, being retained reliably in position thereon by the flanges as shown and the constant tendency of this spring is to bear the entire wheel support and plunger vertically upward, this movement being restricted only by a stop or pin 21 through the lower end of the plun ger beneath the barrel 2. The trolley wire 25 leads from the trolley support down through the hole 5, socket 6, and the length of the pole 7 which is usually tubular as indicated. For preventing guy wires and other wires, limbs of trees, etc., from get ting into the spring, a guard in the shape of a curved plate 26 is secured at its lower edge to the flange i as by screws 27 or otherwise, and this guard rises well past the edge of the top plate 13 and may extend from the front of the structure part way around the sides or for a considerable distance around the same,

as preferred. As a guard it is needed usually only at the front, and by preference the remainder of the structure is left open as seen in Fig. 1 so that snow and dirt may blow out of the spring rather than accumulate therein.

The spring (not shown) at the base of the pole 7 impels the upper end of the latter normally upward and forward along an oblique line indicated by the arrow 28 in Fig. 2, whereas the spring 20 impels the wheel holder upward along a line indicated by the arrow 29 which may be said to be vertical, because it is substantially vertical when the parts stand in their usual position and the wheel is in contact with the wire. The tension of the pole spring and the spring 20 will hardly ever be exactly the same, and in fact the pole spring is usually a rather stiff one because it must raise the weight of the pole and the parts carried thereby. It may, therefore, be assumed that the spring 20 will yield more readily than the pole spring and such yielding occurs in passing switches and crossings in the trolley wire, so that thewheel is permitted a V slight vertical movement without necessarily always displacing the trolley head and the upper end of the pole from their usual popanying drawing, it will be observed that the plate serves a dual function which is, first, that of rotatably supporting the trolley wheel and secondly, as a means for securing the coil spring in position.

' Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1'. Atrolley includinga headhaving an obliquepole receiving socket and a vertical barrel formed integral therewith and provided with a squared bore, a plate arranged in spaced relation to said head and having a centrally arranged boss on its inner side, a squared plunger secured to said boss and slidable within said barrel, a coil spring surrounding said plunger and confinedlbetween' said plate and said head, said plate and said head being provided with inwardly extending annular flanges for securing said coil spring in position, a pair of spaced apertured ears carried by said plate, and a wheel rotatably carried by said apertured e'ars.

2. A trolley including a head having an oblique pole receiving socket and a vertical barrel formed integral therewith andprovided with a squared bore, a plate arranged V in spaced relation to said head and having 'a centrally arranged boss on its inner side,

a squared plunger secured to said boss and slidable within saidbarrel, a coil spring surrounding said plunger and confined between said plate and said head, said plate and said head being providedwith inwardly extending'annular flanges for securing said coil spring in position, a pair of spaced apertured ears carried by said plate, a wheel rotatably carried by said apertured ears, and a transversely curved vertically arranged guard secured at its lower end to one side of the annular flange ofs aid head and extending above the annular flange of said plate and adapted to protect the coil spring.

In testimony whereof we afliX our signatures. l I

HENRY J. SPODEN:

, JAMES B. WELSH. 

